GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Generally, the word 'crime' connotes anti-social behaviour of any kind whereas legally speaking; it represents conduct prohibited and punishable by law. It should therefore be borne in mind that certain conducts are likely to be anti-social but may not fall within the category of what constitutes crime. It is as a result of this that an attempt will be made to examine some definitions given by authors and scholars in criminal law.

Smith and Hogan warned about the futility of attempting to define any branch of the law. They pointed that the futility is even greater or more manifest in attempts to define what a crime is.

According to Earl Jowitts, crime is defined as:

'An act or default which tends to the prejudice of the community and is forbidden by law by pain or punishment inflicted at the instance of the state.'

Blackstone on the other hand states:

'A crime or a misdemeanor is an act committed or omitted in violation of public law.'

Clarke on the other hand is of the view that crimes should be classified as public wrongs and they are best described by the procedure adopted in imposing sanction. According to him:

'Crime is an act or omission punished by law.'

Halsbury in his 'Laws of England' defined crime as

'An unlawful act or default which is an offence against the public which renders the person guilty of the act or default to legal punishment.'

Prof. Kenny on his own part defined crime as:

'...wrongs whose sanction is punity and is not remissible by any individual but by the crown itself if remissible at all.'

From these definitions, it becomes apparent that for an act or omission to constitute a crime, it must be agreed upon by a society or the public. There must also be a sanction for such act or omission. One may also observe from these definitions by way of their shortcomings that there is nothing on their face to show what in actual fact constitute crime. In other words, the definitions failed to present or paint a mental picture of what crime is. This criticism equally applies to the definition of crime offered by Okonkwo and Naish when they defined crime as: